Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to discuss new steps in the key areas of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
"Today it would be important first of all to outline the next steps in the key areas of the settlement outlined in the joint statement of November 9 last year. I mean issues related to the activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, clarification of demarcation lines, resolving humanitarian problems, and protection of cultural heritage sites," Putin said.
The Russian leader noted that the task of "unblocking economic, trade and transport ties in the region and opening the borders" deserves special attention. "A special trilateral working group chaired by the deputy prime ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia is expected to deal with these issues," Putin pointed out.
Putin expressed hope that the talks "will take place in a working environment and serve to ensure lasting peace, security and progressive socio-economic development in the region." "In what all of us are certainly interested," he added.
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Adherence to Agreements
The president said that the agreements on Karabakh are being consistently implemented, this creates the preconditions for a fair settlement of the conflict. "Today we can state with satisfaction that the trilateral agreements are consistently implemented. In our conviction, this creates the necessary preconditions for a long-term and full-fledged settlement of the long-standing conflict on a fair basis in the interests of [both] the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples," he said.
The Russian leader said that he appreciated the response to the proposal to jointly discuss the implementation of the trilateral statement on Karabakh. Putin stressed that Russia cherishes the partnership and good neighborly relations between all three countries. "That is why we have followed the armed conflict that broke out with anxiety and sincere concern for the fates of people," the Russian president said. He expressed regret that the large-scale hostilities resulted in significant human casualties and exacerbated the already complicated situation in the Transcaucasus and increased the risks of the spread of terrorism.
Putin thanked Aliyev and Pashinian for their positive perception of Russia's active mediation efforts to stop the bloodshed and stabilize the situation. The Russian head of state recalled that the diplomatic and military departments of the countries were working hard to solve this complex problem. "You and I were in constant contact, we were looking for a compromise together. It was as a result of our joint efforts, after intensive, including, as you remember, overnight, telephone negotiations, that the trilateral statement that you and I signed was agreed on November 9," the Russian leader said.
The Russian president also noted that at the request of the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides, a Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed to monitor compliance with the ceasefire on the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor, a system of effective ceasefire enforcement was created, there were 23 observation posts in the zone of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers and four more posts responsible for the safety of movement along the corridor.
Putin stressed that in all its actions Russia tried to follow the key achievements of the OSCE Minsk Group. According to him, the Russian side continues to verify its actions with its partners and the Minsk Group chair.
Return of refugees
According to the Russian President, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is calm, 48,000 refugees have already returned to the region. "Now the situation in the region is calm. We are doing a lot for the safe return of internally displaced people and refugees. More than 48 thousand people have already returned to Karabakh since November 14 (2020)," the Russian head of state said.
According to him, with the mediation of Russia, an exchange of prisoners and bodies of dead people was held. Besides, an international center of humanitarian response is successfully functioning and solves "vital issues of the normal life of settlements, reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and protection of historical, religious and cultural monuments".
"Employees of the center are engaged in restoration of power and heat supply. More than 800 tons of building materials and over 1.5 million tons of humanitarian aid have already been delivered to the conflict zone from Russia. The population is provided with medical assistance. More than 479 hectares of land have been cleared of mines, 182 kilometers of roads and 710 buildings and structures have been checked. 22 thousand explosive objects have been found and destroyed," the Russian leader said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS